About the play

Kim and Jack are trying for a baby. Trying pretty hard. Their friends are having kids left, right and centre. A

small army of doctors offer well-meaning advice but no actual answers. And nobody’s getting any younger…

But the further they go, the more they start to wonder, what is this all for?

Stuffed is a brand new comedy about friendship, fertility and the choices we make.

“IVF, like the rest of life, can be tragic, heart-warming and ridiculous - sometimes all at the same time. In hindsight, and this is true for many other couples I’ve spoken to, I wish I‘d been more open about the highs and lows of the experience and the process itself with my friends and family. It would have helped all of us enormously.

Stuffed was written to lift the lid on IVF and help make some of those conversations easier for those going through fertility treatment in the future. We also hope it shows that while a baby would be amazing, if that's what you want, a life without children can and should be just as rewarding a journey.

Why Stuffed? Why now?

There’s something incredibly timely about this play and we’ve been privileged to have such an emotional response from our audiences.

Their feedback has been everything we’ve hoped for and more. Even those who haven’t been through the experience themselves have told us how it’s challenged or changed their views on what it must be like for the increasing numbers of people who are affected by this issue.”

Co-writer Lucy Joy Russell

Press reaction

★★★★ “charming and moving…very, very funny…incredibly well-written…incredibly relatable… We laughed, we cried, we loved it.”

Everything Theatre

“moving and uplifting…I would recommend it and hope it transfers to other theatres”

Bio News

“interesting and refreshing…heart-warming and poignant…well-acted and a bit of a tearjerker, this little gem of a play is definitely worth a visit.”

Blog of Theatre Things

★★★★“The story itself is quite fascinating…a heart-warming tale of modern obsessions and how they can take over your life. There is a lot of humour, some sadness and a very human story at its heart which really shines through…could easily transfer to a larger theatre without losing any of the detail or emotion”

London Theatre 1

“Very real, very open, very honest…Red Squash Theatre has created something truly special in Stuffed, which unquestionably deserves a far longer run so that it reaches a much wider audience.”

View from the Cheap Seat

★★★★ “a heart-warming tale of the ups and downs of infertility…a perfect mixture of sadness, poignant humour and sensitivity…I would welcome seeing Stuffed transferred to a larger stage.”

Spy in the Stalls

★★★★ “wonderfully uplifting and funny…an intelligent and insightful play packed with belly laughs but still emotionally focused…the writing is so natural and relatable that you are invested in these characters within a few minutes...The play ends with a note of hope and self-acceptance that makes you want to cheer. What more could you ask for?”

Fairy Powered Productions

Credits SET & SOUND DESIGN Michael Edwards & Victoria Fraser

TECHNICIAN Adam Gibson

PHOTOGRAPHY Robbie Ewing

WRITERS Lucy Joy Russell & Holly McFarlane

DIRECTOR Rory Fairbairn

LIGHTING DESIGN Michael Edwards

CAST Faye Maughan Ben Scheck Dorothy Cotter Alexander Tol Holly McFarlane Rory Fairbairn

KIM JACK GRACE/DR SAMANTHA COLIN/DR CHAR DR DINGWALL/FRANCES/CAROLE BILLY

Collaboration with Fertility Network UK

Fertility Network is the UK’s national charity for anyone who has ever experienced fertility issues. We are collaborating on science and statistics, audience development, media engagement, fundraising, connecting with key people in the field of fertility, and lots more.

• 1 in 6 couples will have difficulty conceiving (FertilityNetwork UK)

• 20-30% of infertility cases are due to male infertility,20-35% are due to female infertility and 25-40% aredue to combined problems in both parts. Up to 20%of cases remain 'unexplained’ (European Society ofReproduction and Embryology)

• Nearly 20% of women born in 1971 reached 45without having children (ONS)

• Across the age range, 65-80% of IVF cycles costing upto £15,000 or more will fail (NICE)

“Working on Stuffed has been an absolute joy, but it is also a project that has the potential to be a huge resource for many people. It is unique in using comedy to bring forth some of the more serious aspects experienced by the 1 in 6 couples currently going through infertility and as such stands apart from other recent plays that have dealt with this issue.

As a play it is accessible, compassionate, challenging and ultimately very watchable. The cast were fantastic at getting to grips with the wide variety of experiences around this subject and portrayed the characters with warmth and care.

I know from speaking to many people currently facing infertility that the play really did capture so many aspects of the fertility rollercoaster, and there was a huge relief and connectivity from this section of the audience. However, it was also really valued and enjoyed by audience members with little or no experience of the sector who described it in glowing terms.

I believe the play has huge potential and very much would be keen to champion the move from a smaller venue to a more prominent one. Ultimately, this needs to seen by the widest audience possible.”

Anya Sizer Fertility Network UK

Anya has worked in the field of fertility for over 10 years, and has supported similar projects at the Young Vic and the Park Theatre

To find out more, or to enquire about staging Stuffed, please contact:

Holly McFarlane Creative Producer, Red Squash Theatre

info@redsquashtheatre.co.uk

@RedSqshTheatre

@RedSquashTheatre www.redsquashtheatre.co.uk